Ranch 99

When you tell people Ranch 99, they automatically think of the one on I-10.  Amazingly, we go to the one in Sugarland more.  

The Sugarland location is not as big, of course.  But they have just as good of selection for food.  They have dim sum, dishes with rice, and of course noodles.  This is wonton noodles with braised beef.  I will say that they do have very good wonton, but I wish they have a few more in the dish.  The braised beef was cooked well, and they were definitely have tons of veggies to boot.  The lady cooked my noodles separate from the rest of the ingredients, and after the noodle, she pour soup over.  It was definitely a good pick for $5.

Ranch 99

3430 Hwy 6

Sugarland, TX 77478

http://www.99ranch.com/store-locator/texas/sugar-land.aspx

Preview

Not knowing that Urban Swank had gone to Preview around the same time we went...  

Their review is more of a highlight of their visit, this is a recap of my revisit... lookout, picture heavy!

Pretty pretzel bread with cute butter.

We are off to a great start!

This is our amuse bouche, which was fried octopus with kumquat and coke gastrique.  You would think the dish would be sweeter than it should, but amazingly enough, it balance out very nicely.

This is their Yellowtail Crudo - which has lime zest and candied garlic.  The little dots in between are blueberry gastrique.  You do need to experience the entire palette together to appreciate the dish.  

This is New Zealand King Salmon with edamame puree.  This was interesting, since I've never had edamame puree before, but it works out nicely.  It's a perfect summer dish.

This is my favorite dish of the entire meal, this is Ceviche with snapper chips, yes, those are snapper!  There are scallop, tuna and avocado in a mix, and you don't get that sour taste that you normally get with ceviche.  

So good, had to have another picture!

This is the well talked about Lobster Bisque.  I think all of us were hoping it'd be more soup. Instead, the amount was more like gravy to cover the fried lobster.  Our server told us that it takes 48 hours to make.  Sadly, our lobster wasn't cooked thru, so it was kinda cold in the middle.  I think we would've love it if it was truly a bisque (aka soup).

This is seared scallops with yam gnocchi.  We loved the gnocchi that we all wanted more of it.  Of course, the whole thing dosed with more truffle oil would not hurt either.  Yum!

This is another of their signature dish, KFT! Kentucky Fried Tuna.  Amazedly it is very floral, they used peached to balance out the salt palette.  And since it's fried, it's definitely crunchy.

This is Mahi Mahi with butternut squash.  The fish wasn't good, but the squash was very good.  The fish was spicy after you taste and a bit salty for my taste.

Squid Rivioli - it was more tough than I imagined, but it was definitely interesting.  Inside has feta cheese, shiitake creme and pecan.

This is Apple Tortellini with two different sauces, one is pesto and the other is tomato.  The pesto is superb, I highly recommend the entire dish with pesto.  The tomato was a bit spicy, and it wasn't as tasty as the pesto. 

This is another of their Signature Dessert, which is Chocolate Ripped Strawberry.  The chips are strawberry yogurt like taste, it went together nicely, too bad there weren't alot to share.  

Our server had offered us an off the menu dessert, as it turns out they were out of it, so instead, they sent us blueberry cheesecake with taro paste.  It was pretty tasty.

Overall, the place was beautiful, the food is creative and good.  With minor issues here and there, it can be great.  The only thing is the location.  While I understand real estate is touch out there.  Preview is in the deep of Sugarland.  While I know people in Sugarland deserves to have great cuisine in their backdoor, that may not be able to sustain business-wise.  When we were there for dinner, there were our table and we basically order one if not two of everything on the menu.  Besides us, there were one couple came in later.  If that's the cover you do, not sure how that's sustaining the rent and the fresh ingredients they flown in.  While, being in Town Center is probably more suitable, Preview could provide another options for the rest of the folks in the area.  Truly, for this type of fusion and creativity, they are best suited for inside the loop crowd.  While totally understand the reluctant of selling out, we worry how long they will be in business.  Please don't go away.

Preview Modern Seafood

4645-C Highway 6

Sugarland, TX TX

832-939-8968

http://www.previewmodernseafood.com/

Hippo Ice

Shaved ice for dessert is not a new thing.  It's been around Chinatown for quite some time.  Now, new twists are coming up.  And this is one that had take it and done well.

A friend of mine introduced us to Hippo Ice.  And it was a good recommendation.  

What it is is flavored shaved ice (you have as many as 8 flavors to choose from, some are dairy free), but you see they layered it like sheets, then you select different toppings, there are fruits, nuts, and what nots.  Then you have sauce to top it off. 

This one is Mango, Mango, Mango.  That is, Mango shaved ice, Mango the fruit, and Mango the sauce.  You'd think that'll be over empowering, but surprisingly, it went along very well.  

This one is Green Tea with Red Bean (adzuki beans).  It matches very well together.  Granted, in other occasions, we've done green tea and red beans together before, so that was no surprise to us that it'll go well together.

The secret of their shaved ice is that they take whatever the flavor, pureed then freeze the block, then serve.  Versus, the other people has a blocked of ice made of pre-made mixes and that's why the flavor is so true here compare to the others.  For $5 you can make multiple combinations and for extra, you can add as many toppings as you wish.  This dessert is definitely meant to be shared.  As much as a sweets person I am, I can't finish it all.

Hippo Ice

3737 Highway 6

Sugarland, TX 77478

832-532-7562

https://www.facebook.com/hippoice

Bite Macarons

So I saw that Bite had new flavors, so can't help myself to go check it out. 

As usual, awesome layout and they showcase their other desserts too.

I had a Green Tea Yogu drink with my macarons.  It was definitely refreshing for a hot day.  It's more sweet than a any green tea drink, but it's very light texture.

There's (L) Black Currant, Pistachio, Coffee, and hidden behind the sticker is their Bacon flavor.  The bacon flavor was in a caramel mix, which is smart because it essentially became a salted caramel.  And you do get tiny bits of bacon in there.  If you didn't know this is what you picked up, you won't notice it until way after you're done, because the flavor is just 'that' subtle.  Pretty tasty if you ask me... then again, I'm bias towards any bacon.

Bite Macarons

5172-B Buffalo Speedway

Houston, TX 77005

713-664-2483

http://www.bitemacarons.com/

Avalon Diner

Haven't been to Avalon Diner forever, so long that I can't even find it in my own archive.  

I ordered the corn beef hash. That's my usual for breakfast here. As you can see the portion is great and no frills. They give you a generous portion of corn beef hash, and tons of hash browns. 

 While you can't see it, the service is fast.  You go in and if they're out of tables, you take a seat on the long green couch by the window, and as tables open up, ypu just move on down. I always liked going there. You get a piece of old Houston at Avalon. They have turned a soda shoppe to a diner over time. And diners are happy to line up for it. They are comstantly busy, snd the servers have a rthym to their service. Definitely a seamless orchestration by the time you sit, order, eat, and get you check. Definitely needs to go back more often. 

Avalon Diner

2417 Westheimer Rd

Houston, Tx 77098

713-527-8900

http://avalondiner.com

Table on Post Oak

Met up with some friends at Table on Post Oak, which formerly known as Philippe.  Haven't been there since they relaunched the Patio, and then they rebranded the restaurant.

They kept the patio with better upgrades, such as fans that works, wifi just for the area.  Funny story, the hostess gave us their wine list on iPad, and it does not work out in the patio area, so that's why they have a special unit just for the patio.  Sigh... technology.

Since they have Happy Hour Special, we thought we just go down the list and try them all.

This is the Tomato & Burrata Flatbread pizza.  It's like a minor tweak of the caprese pizza.  It has sundried tomato, cherry tomato, arugula, and house-made barata cheese.

This is the BBQ Pullpork Flatbread, the pepper on top does give it a kick.  So, if you're not a fan, either remove immediately or tell the server when you order to skip those.  The base is baked beans puree, which I'm not normally a fan but in this case was actually quite good.

Hummus trio.  The funny part is that each of us liked one of them... which worked out perfectly.   There's garbanzo, pinto, and cannellini, we cannot tell you what we each liked, just that we each liked one, and that worked!

Parmesan Rosemary Fries.  First of all, if you put Parmesan on anything I'll love it, with the rosemary very subtle taste.  It's so good that we ordered another one.  Nice and crispy.

Sweet and Sour Pork bites.  It's pork belly with sweet and sour sauce.  On the side there's bbq sauce, cole slaw, and pepper just to kick it up a notch.  This one was truly delicious, and I bet had we ordered another, we would've polished it off too... We were just too polite was hoping the other person suggest it first.

Great place for Happy Hour, as you saw the prices is mostly $7, and even though some of the dishes isn't on the Happy Hour menu, they are sides of the main menu, the price is still less than $10.  Definitely a great spread to share with friends over alcohol.  

Tables on Post Oak

1800 Post Oak Blvd

Houston, TX 77056

713-439-1800

http://tablerestaurants.com/

Ruggles Green

It's been a while since we've been to Ruggles Green.  

Mostly because due to it's popularity, you can't find a parking spot.  And the neighbor had hired a guard to stare you down just in case you park at the wrong spot.... quite intimidating.  I did have a rare sighting of Bruce Molzan who just stepped down from Corner Table. 

I know it's hot, but I had a craving for pasta, so I got the Turkey Meatball Quinoa Pasta.  I call it the GF version of pasta Bolognese.   The meatball is super filling, I have to cut it up and really chomp on it bit by bit.  The pasta is good, but it's because the sauce is delicious.  That's my normal go-to dish.  What's yours?

Ruggles Green

2311 W. Alabama

Houston, TX 77098

713-533-0777

http://www.rugglesgreen.com/